How to draft an ECHR individual application with AI

The steps

1. 1.

   Verification of standing and the notion of victim

   The first step is to verify that the applicant has standing under Art. 34 ECHR, demonstrating that they are a direct victim of a violation. Actio popularis is not permitted; therefore, it is necessary to document how the State's act or omission has personally and adversely affected the subject's legal sphere. It is also necessary to verify that the respondent State is a party to the Convention and that the violation falls within its territorial or extraterritorial jurisdiction. At this stage, one must distinguish among direct victims, indirect victims (such as family members in the event of death), and potential victims, providing adequate evidence of the harm suffered.

2. 2.

   Exhaustion of domestic remedies and subsidiarity

   Under Art. 35 ECHR, the applicant must demonstrate that they have exhausted all effective and available domestic remedies before applying to Strasbourg. This means that Convention-related complaints must have been raised explicitly, or at least in substance, before domestic courts up to the final instance. It is not necessary to pursue extraordinary or discretionary remedies, but the national procedural path must be documented with precision. Failure to exhaust even a single judicial remedy considered effective under domestic law inevitably leads to the application being declared inadmissible for lack of subsidiarity.

3. 3.

   Compliance with the mandatory four-month deadline

   The application must be sent to the Court within the strict time limit of four months, running from the date on which the applicant or their lawyer obtained effective knowledge of the final domestic decision issued within the ordinary procedure for the exhaustion of remedies. This deadline, provided for by Art. 35 ECHR, is a matter of public policy and cannot be interrupted or suspended, save in exceptional cases of absolute physical impossibility. For calculation purposes, the date of dispatch of the complete application form (postmark) prevails, not the date of receipt by the Registry. It is essential to attach a copy of the final decision certifying the date of filing or notification to allow the Court to verify compliance with the time limit.

4. 4.

   Completion of the official form and formal requirements

   The Court accepts applications exclusively drafted on the updated official form, which must be fully completed in all its sections without generic references to attachments. The statement of facts and alleged violations must fit strictly within the space provided in the form, under penalty of administrative rejection. Additional sheets may only be used to expand upon what is already summarized in the form, within the page limits prescribed by the Registry instructions. Non-compliance with the formal rules established by the Rules of Court precludes examination of the merits, with no possibility of subsequent cure.

5. 5.

   Statement of facts and deduction of violations

   The statement of facts must be chronological, clear, and limited to the elements strictly necessary to establish the violation of the rights guaranteed by the Convention. For each ECHR article alleged to have been violated, the applicant must provide specific legal reasoning, linking the facts to the conventional guarantees. A generic complaint of injustice is not sufficient; one must indicate precisely which positive or negative obligation the State has failed to fulfill. Rhetorical arguments should be avoided, focusing instead on proving the significant disadvantage suffered and the lack of domestic remedies capable of redressing the violation.

6. 6.

   Signature and preparation of the index of documents

   The application form must be signed with a handwritten signature by the applicant or their legal representative holding a power of attorney. If the applicant is represented from the outset, this section must be signed by both the applicant and the lawyer (Rule 47 § 1 (c)), without prejudice to different modalities in the event of a subsequent change of representation. All supporting documents, including judicial decisions and pleadings from domestic proceedings, must be listed in a numbered index and attached as copies (never originals). Each attachment must be arranged in chronological order and correspond exactly to the descriptive list. Complete documentation is essential for the Court to independently verify the exhaustion of domestic remedies and the merits of the complaints.

Legal basis: art. 34 CEDUart. 35 CEDU